Gaitis Yannis (1923-1984)

Composition, 1975. Oil and inlaid wood, 202 x 147 x 11cm.

Yannis Gaitis was a 20th-century Greek painter and sculptor. He was one of the most characteristic and original representatives of Pop Art in Greece. Also, he was well known for his paintings of repeating men dressed identically in hats and plaid jackets. He invented an archetypal stylised figure with anonymous men depicting the uniformity and sterility of mass living. Furthermore, his works represent alone, homogenous, interchangeable men who are characteristics of the modern society. A standardised outline, black hair, a blue hat resembling similar figures painted by the Belgian surrealist Magritte, a striped or checked suit, all on a flat board of a body whose arms are stuck to its sides. This recognisable everyman became the trademark of Gaitis' art. Moreover, his blank-faced, look-alike figures have stood at attention in exhibitions both in America and abroad. We will see this figure multiplied and crowded together in other inventive compositions such as this one, reminding today's mass, impersonal, consumer society. Though this artwork, the artist aimed to showcase distinguishable images with humor and imagination that remained likeable and creative, despite the unpleasant reality they condemned. Finally, Gaitis through his technique with the decorative striped and checked motifs and also the harmony and calmness of the blue and white shades that are radiated from his creations, desired to convey the feeling of euphoria and hopefulness to his admirers.